Drunken quarrel leads to man being set on fire near Klang river

A man sustained severe burns on his body after he was doused in petrol and set ablaze by his friend while they were fishing under the Klang river bridge along Jalan Tun Sambanthan, on Monday. (pix courtesy of Malaysian Red Cresent)

KUALA LUMPUR: A man sustained severe burns on his body after he was doused in petrol and set ablaze by his friend while they were fishing under the Klang river bridge along Jalan Tun Sambanthan, on Monday.

The incident was sparked by an argument between the two over the victim’s drunken behaviour.

However, the victim had initially told police that he was struck by a liquid which was hurled from above the Jalan Tun Razak bridge, located near the Pekeliling bus station, while he was fishing.

Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Shaharudin Abdullah said the victim had claimed that he felt as if his body was “on fire”, which made him fall into the Klang river. He claimed that the current then carried him near the Putra World Trade Centre.

“He told police that he managed to swim to the riverbank and in his exhaustion, fell asleep until the next day,” he said.

The victim also claimed that as he was walking along the riverbank to search for his cousin and friends, he came upon several members of the public, who then brought him to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital as he had burns on his back and hands.

A picture of the man and his injuries subsequently went viral on social media. The social media posting had claimed that the man had been splashed with acid.

“However, we found that his injuries and the story he gave us appeared inconsistent. We then questioned him further.

“He then changed his story, saying that the incident took place at the Klang river near Pos Malaysia, at Jalan Tun Sambanthan. But he maintained that he could not remember anything further about the incident,” he said.

Investigators then visited the scene of the incident and later picked up three witnesses to assist the probe.

“One of the witnesses then said the man had been doused with petrol and set alight with a lighter. The attack occurred because he had been a nuisance due to his constant state of drunkenness,” he said.

Forensic checks at the scene also turned up traces of petrol and burns.

“We will continue our probe into the case as the incident occurred in the Dang Wangi jurisdiction,” he said.